2015 ASTA Annual Meeting

The 132nd annual meeting of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) was held June 17-20, 2015 in Washington DC. With a focus on advocacy, seed industry representatives met with their elected officials in Congress to talk about important issues such as trade, pollinator health and labeling. Participants heard from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, elected new officers for the coming year, …

2015 Fuel Ethanol Workshop

The 31st annual Fuel Ethanol Workshop was held June 1-4 in Minneapolis. The big topic of the conference was the just released proposal from the EPA on volume requirements for biofuels under the RFS. The event featured a general session with comments from industry representatives and an ethanol producer panel, as well as breakout sessions on several tracks including cellulosic …

Novozymes Part of UN Bioenergy Initiative

A new UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative was announced this week with the goal of “doubling the global use of renewable energy and ensuring universal energy access by 2030.” Co-chaired by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials, the initiative includes Novozymes, a global technology provider for the biofuels industry, as a partner …

2015 BASF Science Behind the Chemistry

BASF Crop Protection held its 9th Science Behind event prior to the 2015 Commodity Classic in Phoenix, Arizona. The Science Behind the Right Chemistry focused on how BASF is helping farmers with risk management and the BASF booth at Commodity Classic featured experts in the company’s vast crop protection portfolio. 2015 BASF Science Behind Album BASF Celebrates 150 Years of …

Oregon FB on County GMO Bans

Last week, two Oregon counties voted overwhelmingly to ban the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) crops. The initiatives in Josephine County and Jackson County, which border California, passed by as much as a two to one margin. “This isn’t Monsanto or Syngenta, these are local farms that have been farming the way they have chosen here in the valley for …

ABM Opens Facility in South Africa

Advanced Biological Marketing (ABM) has purchased the assets of BioSolutions, an importer of innovative technologies for the agricultural sector in Southern Africa. The acquisition was finalized in December of 2013. Included is the office in Litchenburg South Africa, a manufacturing facility and a distributor network. ABM branded products will be produced, formulated and packaged there. This facility will manufacture products …

GMO Coalition Announced

American farmers and representatives from a diverse group of almost thirty industry and non-governmental organizations today announced the formation of the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food and urged Congress to quickly seek a federal solution that would establish standards for the safety and labeling of food and beverage products made with genetically modified ingredients (GMOs). Representatives of some of the …

Monsanto Call on GE Wheat Suspicions

Monsanto officials held a press call on Friday (6/21/13) regarding “suspicious” evidence in the investigation of genetically engineered wheat plants found in an Oregon field last month that suggests it was possibly intentionally planted. The call was conducted by Monsanto Vice President and Director of Technology Robb Fraley. The full audio from the call is linked here. Note that the …